Rectal supporter.



PATENTED FEB. 4, 1008.

H. E. CUNNINGHAM. RBGTAL SUPPORTER.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.0.1005.

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muscles alone.

HERBERT E. CUNNINGHAM, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

RECTAL SUPPORTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 4', 1908.

Application filed October 9| 1905. Serial No. 281,889.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT E. CUNNING- HAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Rectal Supporter, of which the` following is a specification.

The objects of my invention are to provide a superior rectal supporter for the relief and cure of fissure, hemorrhoids, and other rectal diseases; to provide a rectal supporter that will be self-retaining, and lwill exert pressure in the most advantageous manner on the parts affected; to provide superior means to apply toithe hemorrhoidal or other diseased rectal surface an unyielding Contactin@` vsurface of fine texture and antiseptic qualities, and that will also have in itself a curative nature; to provide superior means for returning and retaining any portions of the rectal lining that may be ordinarily subject to protrusion to produce automatic massaging of the affect ed parts by action of the body of the wearer.

I may provide suspensory means to guard against accidental displacement, but in general, the supporter embodying my invention will beheld in place by the action of the rectal I also provideI for superior electrical simulation or treatment of the part affected.

The invention relates to the construction of the entire device and its members.

It also includes `a rectal supporter made of Zinc. I have discovered that a rectal supporter made of metallic Zinc will by its corrosive qualities, promptly reduce inflammation in the affected parts; at the same time providing an appliance affording means whereby movement of the body of the wearer will cause beneficial massaging of the parts. In this connection the supporter has a smooth exterior, and is approximately circular in cross-section, being of such a shape as not to form corrugations or folds in the lining of the rectum.

In carrying out my invention in its most approved form, the supporter is made of an integral piece of Zinc constituting an inner closure and an outer closure, and a thin or narrow neck connecting said closures and preferably, the entire appliance is perforated axially, and the several members thereof are arranged around a straight perforation.

The lsupport may be variously constructed for use in various forms of rectal disease. 'I shall illustrate and describe three of such forms, although I do not limit myself to the exact construction shown in any of the forms I shall illustrate.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention: Figure l is an elevation of the supporter with adjacent portions of the suspensory andV circuit connection means. 2 is a vertical section of the supporter. Fig. 3 is an inverted plan of same. Figs. L1 and 5 show in elevation and axial section the form best adapted to treatment of the most common forms of rectal diseases. Fig. 6 is a sectional plan on line 6`-6, Figs. 4t and 5. Figs. 7 and 8 show in side elevation and axial section, an extreme form especially adapted to cases where the hemorrhoid lies directly over the sphincter recti. Fig. 9 is a bottom view of the external closures shown in Figs, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 omitting lthe cross bar. Figs. 5, 8 and 9, the suspensory and electrical attachments are omitted. Fig. l() is a plan of the device looking down at the top thereof.

It is to be understood that each of the three forms shown are substantially circular in all cross sections.

Referring first to the form illustrated in Figs. 2, and 8, the supporter consists of a substantially pear-shaped body portion l, a contracted neck 2 and a head 3. The body portion l is preferably round in cross section and enlarges abruptly from the neck so as to form a shoulder or face 4, and a swell or enlargement 5, said body portion tapering above said swell to form a contracted or somewhat pointed end 6.

The neck 2 is desirably cylindrical, and the head 3 has a flat upper face 7 acting as a shoulder. The supporter is hollow throughout, having a perforation, bore or passage 8 extending longitudinally through the same from end to end. To the lower end of the supporter may be secured an attaching means, such as a cross bar 9 with eyes 10 adapted for engagement with hooks 11 of suspensory tapes l2, shown in part in Fig. 1.. An electrical conductor 13 has a terminal hook 14 also adapted to engage in one of said eyes, as shown in said figure. The outer face of the end. or button 3 is curved sufliciently to afford space between the per forated ends of the bar 9 and the surface to permit of the insertion of the ends of the tape 12, and also the insertion of the hook 14.

I have found that Zinc is the most desirable material for the supporter, and I therefore prefer to form the same of an integral piece Fig.

of zinc, smoothly finished, with the attachin@ device soldered thereto.

`In using the supporter, it is inserted point end upwards, into the rectum until the swell 5 passes the sphincter ani, which thereupon closes upon the contracted neck 2 and engages above and below with the faces 4, 7, to

hold the supporter from displacement in support of the sphincter recti.

either direction. If the hemorrhoids are protruding, they will be pushed back into the rectal passage by this operation, and in any case, the pressure, distending and separating effect of the supporter will afford relief. The zinc surface, in contact with the congested membrane, has a specific stimulative and curative effect. To further increase the stiinulative and curative effect the conductor 13 may be attached, said conductor leading to any suitable source of current, such as an electric belt, to conduct an electric current into the parts affected. The suspensory devices 11 are attached in any suitable way to the person in well-known manner. The bore or passage 8 through the supporter provides for the free passageV of gas from the bowels, and by forming the inner end with a long, slender taper ending substantially in a feather edge, the intestines fit closely around it and above the end they come into contact, and thereby prevent the passage of any of the contents except the air which escapes through the perforation through the plug or supporter. y

Referring now to the form shown in Figs. 4 and 5,' the pear-shaped inner end or body portion 1 which constitutes the inner closure, is provided with a more abrupt base 1' than the base 4, in Figs. 1 and 2, to receive the Said body tapers from said base in substantially the same form as in Figs. 1 and 2; that is to say, said body tapers from the base in the form of a spindle generated by the revolution of a curved line around an axis exterior to said curve, said axis being the straight perforation, bore or passage 8. The outer closure or button-like outer end or head 3 of this form, has a convexity 15 at the neck 2 and bead 16, a channel 17 being provided between the bead and neck, said channel extending around the neck at a distance therefrom. By this construction the outer closure is adapted to return and retain the walls of the rectum which may ordinarily be subject to protrusion.

In Figs. 7 and 8, the inner closure is provided with a more abrupt shoulder or base 4Z than that shown in either of the other views. This form is especially adapted for cases in which the sphincter recti is weakened or relaxed.

The curved form of the spindle shown in the several -views is especially adapted to sustain the varicocele veins or hemorrhoids, and to perform the massaging action.

It will be understood from the plan view 10 that the body 1, 1, 1 in the several views, is preferably circular in cross section throughout, and devoid of any ridges or corrugations which may tend to form folds in the inner coating of the rectum. 4The tendency of the inclosure being to smooth and keep straight and true the lower part of the l rectal lining.

It is to be understood that the suspensory device shown to a considerable extent in Fig. 1, is applicable to all the forms.

What I claim is 1. A rectal supportercomprising a longitudinally-perforated zinc body having a pear shaped inner end., a neck, and a substantially button-shaped outer end, a perforated crossbar on the button, the outer surface of said button being rounded to form a space between the ends of the bar and said surface, tapes secured to the ends/of said bar, and a conductor hooked in one of the perforations in the ends of the bar.

2. A rectal supporter comprising a spindleshaped body having a distended portion terminating on one end in a slender tapering contraction and at the other abruptly in a neck, said neck having a head formed in continuation therewith and consisting 0f a disklike button-shaped trough arranged to snugly fit the anal end, and an opening extending centrally through the supporter from end to end.

3. A rectal supporter comprising a longitudinally-perforated Zinc body consisting of a spindle-shaped inner end, a neck and a button-like outer end, said inner end having a long, slender taper ending substantially in a feather edge, and said ends forming shoulders at the ends of the neck. l

In testimony whereof, I have hereuntose-t my hand at Los Angeles California this 2d day of October 1905. i X i HERBERT E. CUNNINGHAM.

,JAMES R. TowNsEND, J ULIA TowNsEND. 

